It is Smallest's birthday on Thursday and we have been asking him what he wants to try as he might he can never think of anything. He asked for a pet dog the other day which is not going to happen for a long time, if ever. I had an idea and this morning we broached it with him. SMALLEST, WOULD YOU LIKE A GOLDFISH FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY? I kind of expected him to say either 'no not really' or 'oh yes please'. Instead he burst into laughter and told us he had pictures in his head of a goldfish in a bowl wrapped in paper. He couldn't stop laughing and said it was 'really random'. He decided he wanted one anyway and we went shopping for fish later. Both boys had fishes from when they were really young and we aways replaced them when they died. The last time we tried to replace their fish (when we were in the UK) the pet shop refused to sell any to us because we had a big bowl and no filter. The boys were devastated but that was about six years ago and we haven't had any since. Plus I broke the huge glass bowl we had, when Smallest had a robotic fish in it.
The boys made friends and sat together playing on their tablets and Huffle took full advantage of a unoccupied XBox and played FIFA by himself.
Off we went to the Mall for fish purchasing and birthday shopping but alas the big pet shop had moved. We picked up a few bits and drove to where the pet shop had gone to. We started looking at goldfish and little fish and got overwhelmed so asked one of the girls working in there. She advised that for a beginner fish we should get a Betta Fish (Siamese Fighting Fish) and a smaller tank or bowl. Betta Fish need to be kept singularly as they fight and get territorial. Huffle decided on a split tank with a filter which meant we could get two different ones. Of course they needed gravel and a tank decoration (Smallest chose some fake grass and a blue cave) water conditioner and food. Smallest chose a red fish first and then a blue one. Both were housed in little containers that were no bigger than jam jars. I carried them home in the car.
Back home we washed and filled the tank with water and conditioned it. Small and Huffle put the filter together and we put the green gravel in (green was the choice of Smallest) and the divider. The blue cave went on one side and the grass the other. We waited the allotted time whilst eating lunch and put the fish in their new homes. Smallest named them Arnie and Peter Crouch after two of his favourite Stoke players. I tried to get a Leicester players name but he was having none of it. The fish seemed to settle in really well and we sat and watched them for ages. They are mesmerising. The tank has a light in the top so everything looks really bright and vibrant. Every now and then they seemed to sense each other and would flare their gills (this is a territorial thing and something they do to be impressive). They would fight if they could get at each other but we are hoping they will become friends through their dividing wall.
Huffle and I left the boys emptying the dishwasher and went out to get food from the supermarket. When we got back, Small was playing on the Xbox and Smallest sat by his fish playing on his tablet. He loves the fish. Not such a funny thing after all.
We had fish finger sandwiches (it being a fishy kind of day though a I told Smallest it wasn't fair to eat them in front of the new fish but he said they wouldn't know) in front of Saturday Night Takeaway and then as Smallest went off to bed, he switched off the fishes light and bade them goodnight. They looked like they went to sleep. One by his grass and the other with his head poking out of the cave (yes the are both males, or supposed to be).
We watched The Voice as Jamiroquai were on. Very good. Please come and Tour over here. We haven't seen them since 2010.
This evening watched Hidden Figures. Another excellent film.
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